Strikingly Review - A website builder for single page layouts

Strikingly is kind of the new kid on the block in the website builder market. It was launched in 2012 - years later than its main competitors - and has gained quite some popularity since then. The website builder’s focus is creating single page websites without any programming skills.

This makes it very interesting for marketers and small businesses. Typical examples are portfolios, product landing pages or events where you show all your information on one good-looking page. In addition to your showcase you can also add a small online store (300 products max.) and a blog.

The designs look very modern and will be displayed perfectly on smartphones and tablets. You can even enhance the mobile experience by adding a mobile action such as an easy access ‘call’ or ‘send email’ button. This will make browsing your website even easier on smartphones and tablets.

Their entry plan is free forever and will allow you to create a basic website and test Strikingly’s main features. But what if you need more than one page? You have to pick the Pro plan. It can handle up to 20 pages. That’s not a lot, but good enough for most small websites.

Let’s find out what else Strikingly has to offer! We’ll take a deep dive at what shines and what they need to improve.

To try Strikingly for free, click here: https://www.websitetooltester.com/out/strikingly Find a more detailed Strikingly review here: https://www.websitetool...Strikingly Review: How good is this website builder?2018-07-06https://img.youtube.com/vi/JSsK9z4cLD0/hqdefault.jpg

Pros and Cons of Strikingly

With their fast, friendly and efficient help center, Strikingly came out 1st in our support test.

Single Page Focus

The editor is great if you want to create a slick-looking single page layout.

Ease of Use

It’s not complicated to create a website with Strikingly. The editor is a drag ‘n drop solution which makes it really beginner-friendly. Coding skills aren’t required.

SEO

Generally you can optimize basic stuff like your title or meta-description, but it’s very difficult to make a single page rank well. If SEO is important to you, you’ll have to use their most expensive plan (Pro) to be able to use multiple pages (and even then you’re limited to 20 individual pages).

Limited Free Version

The free version is good enough to check out the editor, but features like adding your own code (something you can do in any other free website builder) aren’t available.

Expensive

The only plan without Strikingly ads is the Pro plan. However, it’s quite expensive compared to its competitors since it has less features overall. On a more positive note, it allows you to build up to three websites.

Rating Details

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Ease of use

The editor is well structured and and easy to use. You arrange the entire layout via drag & drop.

Choice and flexibility of design (templates)

The fact that it’s focused on one page layouts makes it quite limited, designwise. However, it’s great that you can switch the design without losing any content. This means you don’t have to start from scratch all over again when you think it’s time for a different looking layout. Also the style editor gives you full control of the general appearance of your headlines, navigation, buttons etc.

Advertisement-free

You have to pick the highest plan. Otherwise Strikingly will show a logo in the footer and add “on Strikingly” in the SEO-title.

Languages

The editor itself is available in 6 languages, but there isn’t a function to translate the website. The best way is to create new pages in a different language and link them via the menu (which isn’t really an ideal solution).

Features

Your own domain name (e.g. .com or .net)

Buy a domain for $24.95 .com, .net, .org, .me, .co or connect an existing one in any paid plan. We recommend to buy the domain somewhere else (e.g. Namecheap) since this is generally much cheaper.

Depth of navigation

Since it’s made for 1-page layouts, there’s only one 1 level available.

Widgets (small tools to add extra functionality)

A small app market is available. Some apps like MailChimp for newsletter integration will require a Pro plan though. Also, if you want to add a new feature via HTML, you’ll need a paid plan. Surprisingly, a simple picture gallery isn’t available.

Monetization

Only possible with paid plans since you can’t add external code (like Google Adsense) to the free plan.

E-Commerce

The online store is a nice add-on that might be interesting if you also want to sell. Keep in mind that you have a limit of max. 300 products.

Search Engine Optimization (SEO)

Optimizing your titles and meta-description isn’t an issue. However, don’t expect outstanding SEO results when your entire content is displayed on one page only. In order to create more focused content, you’ll need the Pro plan. This allows you to optimize each page (20 max.) for a different keyword.

Blog

Even though it’s not really common, you can add a blog to your one page layout. The articles open up on a page with a different design. Not a very elegant solution.

Visitor statistics

It’s possible to add Google Analytics.

Contact form

The contact form provides fields for Name, Email, Phone, Message and a Submit button. You cannot add additional fields, which can be quite a disadvantage if, for example, you want to create an event registration page, where you need to collect additional information.

You need to upgrade to the PRO plan (at $16 per month) to add HTML-code to your page. A feature you usually get in the free plan of most other website builders!

Storage space

Unlimited

There’s no webspace limitation, but you can only add up to 3 sites max. depending on the plan you pick. You can always add special pages like Terms & Conditions, Privacy Policy etc.

Backups & Restore

There’s no such function available.

Support

FAQ

Chat

Email

Telephone

If you are looking for great 24/7 support, Strikingly is your best bet. They came out 1st in our support tests, scoring top marks in both speed and support quality.

Fun Factor

The editor does a great job when you really just need a single page design. The menu is well designed so no need to deal with confusing settings.

Overall Rating

3.2/5

Strikingly is a good solution for single page layouts. Putting such a site together is fairly easy and can be done quickly thanks to the easy interface. However, we find it expensive and quite limited in what it offers overall.

Strikingly Review: Conclusion

Strikingly is a website builder that shines when you want to create a single page layout. These designs have become quite popular, because they give you a good overview without having to navigate several pages. You just scroll up and down.

Every page is divided in several sections. You just click on the spot where you want a certain feature and add it. This can be a picture, some text or a contact form. If you don’t find what you need, you might find it in their app store (which, unfortunately, doesn’t hold a huge selection of apps) or you can also add some HTML directly. Keep in mind that you will need a paid plan for this.

Strikingly also comes with ecommerce. Of course, this makes only sense for small online stores. Managing a store with hundreds of products on a single page might not be very user-friendly and you will clearly have some SEO disadvantages.

Why is that? Normally, you optimize every single page for a specific keyword. Since you put all your information on one page, your info will get watered-down for Google. Is your content mainly a contact page, product page or just a portfolio of your best works? I guess you see the problem here. The only way to avoid this issue, is to pick the Pro plan and create pages with more focused content.

Where Strikingly really shines, is support. They won our extensive support test, beating established website builders like Wix and Squarespace. Now it also makes sense that Strikingly’s prices seem a bit high in comparison.

So if you just need a small website for an event, a personal portfolio or some other kind of landing page, Strikingly might be perfectly fine for you. You will set it up in no time. In case you plan to create a more complex structure, you should check out Weebly. Their website is also very intuitive, but you can add an unlimited amount of subpages.

Strikingly Example Sites

Strikingly Alternatives

Weebly

Wix

Duda

Weebly: The editor makes creating websites a walk in the park. Even though it has much more features, it’s still extremely beginner-friendly. As you’d expect, an online store, blog and app store are included. Furthermore, you can also create and maintain your website on the fly with their Android and iOS app.

Wix: The slick designs will allow you to create a pixel-perfect website. Creating a one page layout with fancy scrolling effects and background videos isn’t a problem at all. Wix is especially interesting if you should run into mobile view issues with Strikingly, because the editor goes so far that you can also arrange every element perfectly on a mobile phone.

Duda: The editor has a lot of similarities with Strikingly. Your page is divided into different sections where your add your elements. It also has some interesting features to personalize your website for specific target groups like mobile phone users in your area or promoting a special deal during a specific time window.

FAQ

Does Strikingly provide email accounts?

No. You have to use a solution like G Suite or host your emails somewhere else. Typical solutions are Namecheap or 1&1.

Can I only create single pages with Strikingly?

No. The pro plan allows you to have a max. of 20 pages. Special pages like Terms & Conditions, product pages or blog posts don’t count as a single page.

About Armin Pinggera

Hi! My name is Armin Pinggera and I've been the tech guru at WebsiteToolTester since 2013. After having tested hundreds of web tools and site builders, I'm convinced that anybody can create a website or online store by themselves. Please leave a comment if you have any questions!